Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), John Tester (D-Mont.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Dean Heller (R-Nev.), and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) have introduced the Veterans Fair Debt Notice Act. This legislation would address issues with the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) debt collection procedures and provide veterans needed information about potential debts.

“Many of our nation’s veterans and their families are accidentally overpaid by the VA, only to later find they owe money back. Our bill would help veterans navigate the complicated VA bureaucracy in these confusing cases, and take steps to address the issue of overpayments in the first place. This is common sense bill our veterans need, and it has support from both sides of the aisle,” said Senator Fischer.

"DAV supports enactment of S. 2884—the Fair Debt Notice Act of 2018, which aims to improve VA’s debt notification process by mandating better explanations and more expedient notifications from VA. We thank Senator Fischer and the bill’s bipartisan supporters for their attention to this critical matter for many of our nation’s veterans," said Michael M. Jackman, Commander, Disabled American Veterans Department of Nebraska.

Under the Veterans Fair Debt Notice Act, the VA would partner with Veteran Service Organizations (VSOs) to create a new notice of indebtedness letter that explains why an individual owes alleged debts. The letter would also include steps the veteran can take to challenge or mitigate the debt. In addition, the VA would be directed to create a method to notify individuals of their debt electronically.

Furthermore, this bill would direct the VA, and Department of the Treasury where applicable, to study and report to Congress on administrative issues leading to VA overpayments, and long-term solutions to provide more useful and timely information to veterans. 

 

Click here for bill text.

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